Gareth Bale will sit out Tuesday’s Champions League
quarter-final second leg against Bayern Munich.
Coach Zinedine Zidane confirmed this on Monday, during his
pre-match press conference.
Bale was taken off during the second half of their 2-1 win
in the first leg last week and was also missing for their 3-2 victory at
Sporting Gijon last weekend.
Zidane says he is not willing to take any unnecessary risks
with the 27-year-old.
“Gareth has been working hard to get back and to play with
the side and, after his three months out from injury, he’s come back and was
very excited about playing again,” he said.
“But he’s got a little problem that has come up again. We
hope it’s nothing.
“In a few more days he should be back with us. Tomorrow
[Tuesday] he will not be ready. We don’t want to risk anything with him but he
should be ready in a few days.
“He’s keen to get back as quick as possible and be with us,
so we’ll see from now until the end of the season.”
Madrid host bitter rivals Barcelona this weekend, having a
three-point advantage and having played one game less.
“I don’t know, I hope so,” Zidane said when asked whether
Bale would be back for El Clasico.
“I hope he can be with us. I can’t assure you of anything, I
can’t tell you anything.
By Ifreke Inyang
